[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=9e005d]Constantin[/color] & [color=firebrick]Vlad[/color][/i][/b][/h1]
[img]https://media.giphy.com/media/vTPJOROXG657G/giphy.gif[/img]
[/center][hr][hr][center][b][color=firebrick]Loca[/color][color=9e005d]tion: [/color][/b] (Outside of) Russian Imperial Circus Tent City (Regent Park) [/center][hr][hr]

 [color=9e005d]“Aghhha...” [/color]Constantin groaned as his head was starting to finally clear up. Everything seemed a lot bleeker than the whiteness that it was just lil few moments ago.[color=9e005d]” Head hurts... beating drums...”[/color] He mumbled some things, unable to understand just everything yet. Well then he heard cracks and his eyes snapped wide right away. Painfully he raised his head, looking about, noting the fog was disappearing and he could see Myshka a lot livelier. The cracking didn't bode well though and Veta was still under the ICE!

 [color=9e005d]“VLAD! YOU ALRIGHT?”[/color] Constantin shouted, slowly nudging himself away from the edge of the ice so he can stand up properly.[color=9e005d]” Ve need to pull Veta outside the lake!” [/color]He added.

	Vladimir's head whipped around to Constantin, hands still hovering over Myshka as the extent to his [i]Krasnoye[/i] healing gift flowed into the massive cat. The words he heard gave Vlad pause, if but for a fraction of a second, before the stark realization that his fellow circus performer didn't hear a word he had said. Perhaps the younger firewalker bumped his head, or the great, flying, ebon monster had done something scrambling to his mind on the temporary. [color=firebrick]"ICE!"[/color] he shouted, drawing yet another knife and working doggedly at the ice again. [color=firebrick]"Save Myshka! Myshka save Veta!"[/color] ...Veta saves us all. 

	Myska growled as he tried to chip away more at the ice. His thrashing was breaking some of it away but it still wasn't enough for his shoulders to fit through so he could slip beneath the surface, and his claws wouldn't stay embedded in the ice so he could climb out. Each second that slipped by the bubbles coming up from where the grand duchess had plunged beneath the surface became less and less. 

 Constantin groaned one last time before finally getting up once he was a little away from the edge of the ice. Strangely enough his sabre was around so without further ado, he quickly started half sliding half losing balance over to where the tiger was still held frozen. It wasn't the greatest moment of his life, considering how clumsy he looked right now, but who cared about appearances right now.

 [color=9e005d]"Едно...две... три!"[/color] He started counting as he kneeled by Myshka finally and on the third count he started chipping at the ice too. He had chosen to chip away near the front paws of Myshka. He figured if those were freed, a tiger's own leg strength would allow it to get freed or at least help loosen or crack the rest of the ice. 

	The sounds of cracking ice should have been more alarming to Vladimir, considering that the sounds were not necessarily where he was trying to break it, but his concern was not for personal safety. The ice collapsing might even be a boon to his efforts to free the tiger, even if it endangered himself. His life, in his own estimation, was worth little compared to that of the young lady beneath the ice. No matter how awe inspiring and important he found himself, he would gladly trade places with Veta right then, for the good of both her and his Sem'ya. But he could not. Nor could he go after her without the likelihood of killing them both with his inexpert efforts to navigate icy water. 

	But hope was not lost, even if it were slipping away with ever slowing bubbles from beneath hard ice. The fog had lifted, and Vladimir, even in his frenzy, could catch the Circus out of the corner of his eye, even hear the sounds of its inhabitants. He continued to hack away at the ice as best he could, trying to free the feline beast which was his immediate hope at Veta's salvation, but also raised his voice in a great shout back to his people among the wagons and tents. [color=firebrick]"Иди скорей! Нам нужна помощь! Теперь!"[/color] he bellowed, imploring anyone within range to move as quickly as possible to help them. 

	The ice was chipping away but Myska still hadn't managed to get free. The tiger was trying with all his might, ice chunks floating beneath him and coming up in the hole where Veta had plunged through. The circus folk though had finally heard the yelling and from the tent city, people carrying torches were finally running in the direction of of the three of them. A loud sound of a crack echoed as one of their foot hit the edge of the water and the man froze, afraid to take another step. 
 
 [color=9e005d]"BRING LONG ROPE! LONGEST!"[/color] Constantin shouted with all his might, still hitting at the ice.[color=9e005d]" FASTER ALSO BRING BLANKETS!"[/color] He added. His father who was also by the edge of the ice didn't even appear to wait any moment before he dashed for the requested items. This ice was cracking it wouldn't survive long. There was also the case that Veta was under it for longer than safe... Chances were bad given the situation. This was a circus so naturally ropes weren't that hard to find.

 [color=9e005d]"Vlad as soon as the rope's here, I will tie one end on me and jump after Veta. With us two breaking the ice won't be enough... we would fall before long if the ice cracks underneath us." [/color]He said, his expression was ashen. He had bloody insane fear of deep water, but leaving Veta under there was not acceptable... he couldn't accept it![color=9e005d]" I will tie myself with the rope and jump after her... I may be able to find her in there..."[/color]

	The Great Bazhooli, looking a bit less Great and sure of himself than his had in a long while, now merely looked like a mortally concerned father becoming more desperate to save the life of his girl. He heard Constantin's words barely, as if being spoken from far away. But he did hear them and shook his head to affirm this fact. If the younger man was willing to jump into the water beneath the ice, so be it. He was openly annoyed that Constantin was abandoning his own plan to free the tiger first, but with the possibility that his new idea may bear fruit, Vladimir was not going to stop him. Besides, he had his own hasty plans. With more people present their options may have increased, even if they could not set foot onto the declining ice near the shore. [color=firebrick]"Hammers!"[/color] he yelled to any in the crowd who would listen. [color=firebrick]"Bring hammers, немедленно! Myshka save Veta!"[/color] 

	This was a Circus. They had many such hammers, large utility ones, for the purpose of driving in the stakes of their largest exhibition tents among other uses. All he needed was a single good one to smash the ice around Myshka's shoulders, and he wasn't about to spare himself any exertion. He [i]was[/i] tougher, stronger, more Russian, and his Veta was in growing peril. Still working the ice with his blade, Vladimir looked over the crowd until he spotted his son, Konstantin, among them. His eyes met the younger Alexandrov's and, though he spoke to everyone assembled, he kept his gaze steady. [color=firebrick]"GO NOW!"[/color] 

	The more people moved on the ice, chipped away at it, the more Myska thrashed, the more the ice cracked. Ropes were tossed out onto the ice, lengths of them held at one end by the circus, curls of it landing near or even on Vlad and Constantin. Myska tried to pull himself up on the ice, he wasn't fitting beneath it yet. Then the ice cracked again, he slipped, his jaw becoming lodged on the rim of where he was struggling to get free from. Yet what looked to be a horrible circumstance turned out to be for the better. His strong jaws bit through the ice and he managed to slip beneath the surface and out of sight into the dark murky waters below the ice. 

	Then things got much worse, the sudden shift in weight and upflow of water when Myska went under caused a surge and the ice beneath the two me finally gave way, sending them plunging into the icy water as well. 

 [color=9e005d]"Да!"[/color] Constantin had exclaimed when the tiger freed itself.[color=9e005d]" Оо НЕЕЕЕЕ!"[/color] Was then his shout as everything around them cracked. There wasn't much time if any to react anymore. One moment they were on the ice, next everything was already cold. His only hope was to be lucky as he had tried to grab onto the ropes that were thrown at them before he was comepletely gone into the frozen abyss.

	Vladimir fared no better than his fellow performer when the ice collapsed. The sudden moment of joy at seeing Myshka break free was quickly joined by his own alarming sense of self-preservation. He saw the rope, felt it even, but all bets were off when he began to rapidly descend into the ice and water beneath him. As he struggled for a solid grasp on one of the ropes thrown to him, he tried to content himself with the fact that, were he to leave this world his family would carry on his work, as Vladimir had done for his father. Of equal or greater importance, with the great white tiger free, Elizaveta stood a fighting chance at survival. The Great Bazhooli had done his duty. 

 Constantin somehow managed to grab the rope. He didn't even understand what happened really. One moment he was sinking grasping at the rope that seemed so distant and the next he had managed to grab a hold of it and locked his grip on it as an iron vice, refusing to let go. The abyss of the water seemed so much more frightening now that the goal of Veta was followed by Myshka. 

 Outside by the edge of the water, Constantin's father was holding onto the rope when he realized that there was indeed weight to it! The man had shouted for someone to help with the pulling, but he himself didn't wait for any help and started to pull the life saving rope. He had no way of knowing if he was pulling Vlad or Constantin, but there wasn't really a time to think. The ice was breaking, making everything that much harder, but eventually he saw Constantin show up from the water. 

	Even as the chill water swiftly began to swallow up the overly dramatic Vladimir, he had a look of determination on his face. For a fraction of a second, he wondered if he could stay down below the water and see where Veta was, maybe make sure that Myshka got to her in time. In his mind, it would be worth it to die with a clear soul, knowing she was safe. He almost didn't recognize the feel of a broad cord of rough hemp in his hand. When it began to drag him upward, he even felt a tiny twang of betrayal. As his head cleared the water, Vladimir inhaled sharply and scrambled atop the packed ice that had not yet fully fractured apart. He could not see anything along the surface; nothing of the tiger, nothing of Elizaveta. He continued to suck in lungfuls of clean air as the Sem'ya pulled him across the ice and back toward the shore. [color=firebrick]"Veta...? Anyvon see Veta?"[/color] If she didn't surface soon, Vlad was going back in.